School Lunches -- French Style

Cheering on the kids as they do a dance for us!

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  For the third time this season, my teammates and I visited a local school this week for a little community outreach.

  While there, we answered questions, played basketball, signed autographs, and ate lunch with the kids. It gave me the opportunity to see what the French schools are like; the buildings themselves, what a kid's day is like, and what their school lunch looks like.

Funny Interactions
  I love hearing the questions the children have. Just like in the States, the first question is usually: 'how tall are you?' followed by: 'can you dunk?' Though, they come up with some interesting questions too such as, 'how old were you when you scored your first basket?' And some funny questions for me, the American: 'do you know Rihanna?' or 'do you know Tony Hawk?'

Q & A time!

  While eating lunch, the kids at my table try to think of any and everything they know in English. While I do my best to muster up something to say to them in French. Most of the time it results in them asking basic questions in French, and me answering in English. It's kind of a funny interaction, but we make it work.

  It's fun to interact with the kids. Though I'm sure it would be a lot more fun if I could communicate with them a little bit better. Kids are entertaining in any language, and I look
forward to going back and visiting more schools
in the next few months!

Lunch Time
  The most interesting thing to me though, was the school lunches. In the US, what we feed our kids at school has, and probably always will be a topic for great discussion. With school district's budgets becoming tighter and tighter, feeding kids a quality meal at school is becoming more and more difficult.

  While it's been some time since I've seen a school lunch in the US, it's safe to say things haven't changed that much, for the better anyways (ahem, pizza = vegetable?).

Kids' time to play!

  Two of the schools we visited were elementary schools. At the elementary level, parents have two options for their kids during the lunchtime period: 1) pick their children up, and have them eat at home; (It is my understanding that the kids have an hour and a half for lunch. So that gives parents plenty of time to pick them up, take them home, have them eat, and get them back to school for the second part of the day.) or, 2) pay a bit extra (2-4 Euros per day, depending on parents' income) and have their children eat a 'hot lunch' at school.
No Brown Bag Lunches
  One thing I did NOT notice was kids bringing lunch from home. If they stayed at school for lunch, they ate what the school provided. This is obviously a very different system than what we're used to seeing in the States.

Cantine -- isn't it more family-style?

  Another difference I noticed, was that the kids don't eat in their homeroom classrooms. They don't have a traditional cafeteria either. They eat in what they call cantines.

  It's more of a family atmosphere, where between four and six kids share a table. They have regular plates, silverware, and glasses on the table (not plastic/paper plates, or infamous 'sporks').

  Once seated, the 'lunch ladies' (for lack of a better term) brought in the 'first plate' of lunch. It might be a carrot salad (like we ate at the first school we visited), or a light pastry with cheese (like we ate yesterday). The kids dish up their own portions, and yes, they all ate at least a little bit of carrot salad.

Plate Stacking
  After they're done with the first course, very systematically, the kids put all remaining food onto one plate, and one by one pass their plates to the front of the table for the lunch ladies to come by and clear. I later asked my teammates if they are taught this as children, because it's what my teammates do when we have a team meal together as well. In fact they are taught to clear their tables, and pass their plates to the front. I think that's a very cool thing to teach their kids. Nothing like learning a little responsibility and manners in the lunch room!

Elodie dishing up some carrots for a kiddo!

  Then the lunch ladies come back with round two. Both times we ate lunch, the main course was meat and vegetables.

  Again, the kids take turns dishing up their own portions. And if the child is too small (some of the kids were as young as six years old at my table), one of the room monitors/lunch ladies helps them out. Bread is also brought out at this time and placed on the table (which happened to be organic bread, by the way).

  When finished, once again, the kids clear their tables and their plates.

  Finally, dessert is brought out. Dessert consisted of clementine oranges, and/or yogurt (organic as well).

Lunchtime Drinks
  One thing that should be mentioned is what the kids had to drink. Their only option was water. A pitcher of water was placed on each table at the start of lunch, and if they ran out, one of the kids could go refill it for the rest of the table.
 

Our lunch yesterday -- roast beef, veggies, & couscous.

  Sure, the menus are very basic. And the kids have very little room for choice. But they are given real food. Not french fries, chicken nuggets, or pizza. They give them true vegetables, fruit, and meat. I'm sure there are days when the kids do have french fries and pizza, but it is not an option for them every day.

  From what I saw, the kids ate what they put on their plate, and they all had a very healthy portions (unless they were just trying to show off for us).

Wouldn't Fly in the US
  One thing I kept thinking to myself while I was sitting at the table, was how much complaining a kid in the US would be doing if we brought out water, vegetables, meat, and clementines for them to eat at lunch. Maybe the French kids do complain, but they ate the food nonetheless!

  I know there are things I don't understand about the French school lunch program, exactly how they pay for it etc...but it seems to me, the US school lunches have great room for improvement.

  Providing kids with proper nutrition is a very important thing. While, as kids, we think it's great (woo hoo, pizza and chocolate milk!), we're not doing them any favors. I hope, somehow, we can improve the quality of the food we give our kids at school! What do you think?

~ Happy Wednesday!

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Team Chemistry: Still Learning After All These Years

Singing the CU fight song after a W.

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  As the team bus was pulling up to the gym Saturday night for our game against La Roche, I had an interesting thought: every Winter, since I was nine years old, I've been a member of a basketball team (that dates back to 1990 for those of you doing the math).

  And I thought, each and every one of those years has been like riding a roller-coaster.

  No matter how much experience you have, you never know what to expect because no two teams are ever the same.

  Even after 22 years (?!?!), I've yet to tire of being on a team. The basketball is roughly the same year in and year out, but the dynamics of a team are always changing, and always keeping you on your toes.

Learning Experiences 
  Basketball aside, you're constantly learning about yourself, and learning about your teammates. So that's why, to me, being a part of a team (any team), can be one of the greatest learning experiences you can have. You don't learn just about basketball, you learn about people, and through that, you learn about life.

Easter 2001 with my Buffs!

  I can still remember my first uniform ever--purple t-shirts from the YMCA. I'm sure everyone remembers their Y-ball days. My dad was our coach, and he taught us the basics about the game. You know: the fundamentals (how to dribble, shoot, etc.), spacing, the pick and roll, give and go.

  But we also learned the basics about teamwork, and how to be a good teammate: sharing, communication, encouragement, working together.

  Of course, as we get older, the game gets more intricate, and the personality of a team grows more complicated. But the most-important aspects of playing on a team never change.

  If you don't have the basic fundamentals of basketball honed and sharpened, you can't play the game at a high level. The same goes for being on a team. If you forget the basics of what goes into being a good teammate, chances are, your team won't be as successful as it could be.

Team Chemistry 
  You can never predict what a team's chemistry will be like. Just like you can never take it for granted. Team chemistry to me, is basically how well people get along on AND off the court. It's unrealistic to expect every person on a team to be best of friends. Personalities will clash; that's only normal. When that happens, it's important that differences are put aside for the betterment of the team.

  Many times, a team's chemistry is what allows it to overcome its opponent. Chemistry is immeasurable, but it might be the most-important intangible a team can have.

Having fun with my teammates in Sweden!

  Each team I have been on has been drastically different in that regard. But I've always found, the closer a team is off the court, the better they play together on.

  You'll go that extra mile, and work that much harder next to someone you like and have a mutual respect for, versus a teammate you don't necessarily get along with.

  The same way you can bring friendships and chemistry onto the court, you can also take what happens in games and practices, off the court. You can grow your friendships with teammates through the difficult, funny, or memorable situations that you face together on the court.

  Some of my favorite memories with teammates and friends have come after re-hashing particularly difficult practices, and being able turn those moments into things we can laugh about.

  By comparison, bad team chemistry, would be when you take a negative experience off the court and bring it onto the court, and vice versa. It's not rocket-science, but it's important nonetheless.

  Two of the most successful teams I've ever played on were extremely close off the court, and I believe it led to us working that much harder together, and that much better together on the court.

Close Team = Successful Team

Team dinner in Como.

  My Colorado teams from 1999-2003 grew from being a tight group of friends that lost more often than not (my freshman year), to a team that could get through almost anything together.

  We advanced as far as the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament, my junior year, and the Sweet 16 my senior year.

  The same can be said for the first professional team I played on in Como. Even though we came from all corners of the world, we enjoyed spending time with each other off the court, and we enjoyed working together on the court.

  What started out as a difficult season, losing games we necessarily shouldn't have lost, resulted in a team (that wasn't the most-talented in the league) that won the Italian Championship at season's end.

  Here are some other valuable lessons I've learned through participating on basketball teams throughout the years. Things I will always take with me, in every aspect of my life:

• I've gotten better at learning how to lose (that doesn't sound right). Maybe learning from failures sounds a little bit better. Losing is never easy, but it used to consume me. Now I try to learn from it.
• Win graciously. Act like you've been there before, act like you've done it before.
• While you learn from failures (losing), success (winning) is what keeps you going. You need to experience the positives along with the negatives to keep pushing yourself.
• I've learned what you CAN, and CANNOT control. Usually all you can control is yourself! You can try to lead your team to change, but a leader needs people to lead! Kind of sounds like the old adage: 'you can lead a horse to water...'

NCAA win -- nothing better!

  I've said over and over again, that being part of a team is one of the greatest, most-special experiences you can have.

  The friendships and camaraderie are the obvious benefits. But what you will learn from your teammates, and will experience is probably the most-rewarding benefit of them all.

  Do you think team chemistry can be 'fixed'? Or is just a natural thing, where, whatever will happen, will happen?

Your Experiences With Team Chemistry
  Is there an aspect about teamwork, or being on a team that I missed? And I mean any kind of team. Your team at work; that's a team! What things do you learn from your teammates or co-workers? And how important is chemistry in the workplace?

  I'm also wondering about the differences in the importance of team chemistry within men's teams, versus women's teams. I can obviously only speak from one perspective, but would love to hear the contrary!

CU Alumni game -- still all the best of friends.

  Please, let me know your thoughts and experiences about being on a team, and how it has benefited your life, and how you have grown from it.
 

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Love for Luleå -- the Tundra

Out for a walk in Luleå.

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  Mid-January, and it seems like winter is finally making an appearance in various corners of the world.

  Depending on where we grew up, we all have different ideas of what winter looks like. Growing up in Portland, winter to me, is a dreary, gray, rainy day (not much different than what a typical spring day might look like).

  But I'm sure for most, winter means at least a little snow, and some chilly temperatures.

  For two of my seasons abroad however, I experienced the most-extreme and hardcore of winters.

  Snow...cold...ice..darkness...reindeer. That's Luleå, Sweden for you!

Frozen eyelashes.

  People who have never been to Colorado might think that the Rockies have a 'harsh' winter.

  Think again. My two years in Northern Sweden was something I had never before seen.

The 'Tundra'
  Before ever setting foot onto Swedish soil, I didn't think it was possible for human-beings to live under 2-3 feet of snow, sub-freezing temperatures, and 20 hours of darkness for 5 consecutive months. But the proud Swedes were happy to show me otherwise.

Riding 'kickers' with my teammates.

  My teammates and I didn't dub Luleå the Frozen Tundra without reason! From November lasting through April, the temperatures are unlikely to rise above freezing. As a matter of fact, from December to February the highs will only reach about 20 degrees F (-7 C), with the lows hovering around 3 degrees F (-16 C). Talk about a deep freeze huh?

  As cold as that sounds, freezing temperatures weren't the biggest obstacle when living in Luleå for the winter.

Four Hour Days
  Adjusting to the ever-shrinking presence of sunshine was. On the shortest of days, I seem to remember sunrise being sometime after 10am, with sunset not too far behind. On most winter days, the sun had completely disappeared into the horizon by 2pm. Leaving you with a solid four hours of sun.

  Since it's such a short day, keep in mind, the sun never fully rises in the sky. Never giving your body that, 'it's one o'clock in the afternoon' cue. It's a difficult thing to explain.

Luleå city behind. On the ice road.

  Cold and dark. Doesn't sound like I should be writing for the Luleå tourism magazine, does it? I'm sure you're probably thinking what a depressing place to live!

  But it's not. Trust me when I tell you Luleå is a place you want to see.

Always Be Prepared 
  You learn to put layers on. You wear long-johns. You never forget your hat and gloves. You make sure to wear extra-heavy socks. And you have a parka that can withstand anything!

  I remember being able to really feel the difference between 23 degrees F (-5 C), and 14 degrees F (-10 C). At 14 F, if you're outside longer than five minutes, you feel your eyeballs start to freeze. Now THAT'S cold!

The ice road!

  As ludicrous as it sounds, the ice and snow brightens things up. I looked at the Luleå-born-and-raised like they were crazy when they first told me that. But I learned that it actually rings true (or maybe it was just a mental thing I convinced myself of).

Use Your Resources
  What I learned to appreciate the most about Northern Sweden, and Luleå in particular, is that they found ways to turn, what might be perceived to be a negative thing (the ice and snow), into a positive.

  Luleå is completely surrounded by water (Lule River and the Gulf of Bothnia). In the freezing winter temperatures, that water obviously turns to ice. Once the ice becomes thick enough, the city creates ice roads that surround Luleå, and that lead to small islands just outside of the city.

My first, and only attempt at cross-country skiing.

  It's on these ice roads that the city comes alive in the winter. You can ice skate, ski, snow mobile, drive a car (!), walk, sled, and do anything else you can think of on these ice roads.

  It was a very surreal feeling going out onto the ice for the first time. I was more than a little nervous, but grew to enjoy the feeling of freedom you felt when out on the ice.

No Seat Belts...Just In Case 
  One of the more-amusing stories I can tell about Luleå came when driving onto the ice roads for the first time with my teammate, Ise. As we drove onto the ice, she turned to me and said, 'ok, seat belts off!'

  You can imagine my thought process: 'why do we need to take our seat belts off?!' 'If the ice breaks, we will have to be able to get out of the car quickly' was the response I came up with in my head.

  But all I could muster up as a response to Ise was: 'whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatttt??' She laughed at me, and said, 'just in case....' with a big smile. You guessed it, just in case....the ice breaks!!

  Thankfully I never experienced the 'just in case'.

  I'm know I did my fair share of complaining, but Luleå is truly one of the most unique places you can live. Drive ten minutes outside the city, and you have a good chance of seeing a reindeer on the side of the highway. Where else in the world can you do that?

  They love their hockey. And thankfully, they also love their basketball. I had a fabulous experience for two seasons in Luleå. But I'm convinced it had a little more to do with the people I was surrounded by than it did the snow and ice.

                                                                                              

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2pm sunset.

Beautiful.

Another early sunset.

A reindeer in the city!

Advent in Luleå.

Sun's out, the ice will be busy!

Going Dark for the Day

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  Short, but worthwhile post today...

Craigslist going dark for the day.

  Unless you've been living under a rock, you're aware that today (Wednesday, Jan. 18th), websites like Wikipedia and Craigslist are 'going dark' in the U.S., along with many other sites 'blacking out' their logo to protest against anti-piracy legislation being considered by U.S. Congress.

  At first glance, it seems like Congress is trying to do the right thing: going after Internet pirates and counterfeiters. But diving further into the proposed legislation, it becomes clear SOPA and PIPA are the wrong way to do it. 

  SOPA (the Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (the Protect Intellectual Property Act) would essentially censor the web. The U.S. government would be able to block websites using similar methods employed in China. Really, that's all that needs to be said.

  The Senate begins voting on January 24th

  My suggestion? Read up on it, and educate yourselves. Then, if so inclined, sign the petition urging Congress to vote NO on SOPA and PIPA.

LINKS:

End Piracy, Not Liberty Petition

How SOPA Would Affect You FAQs

More About SOPA and PIPA

Getting Real About Winning

Versus Voiron.

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  Our first game back from the Holiday break was a frustrating one. I was hoping my team, DMBC Dunkerque, would pick up where we left off in mid-December, and continue our winning streak. But those hopes were quickly put to rest.

  Granted we had a month break in between games, so rust could have only been expected. But there's a difference between rust, and work ethic. A difference between rust, and passion and intensity. A difference between rust, and the desire to win. And Voiron, our opponent, was dealing with the same 'rust'. So you tell me what the difference was ...

  When you spend 12 hours on a bus to get to a game, you want to, at the very least, make those 12 hours worthwhile by playing a good game. Of course, you PLAY every game to WIN every game. If you don't believe you can win the game, you shouldn't be on the floor. Now I'm not delusional enough to think you will win every game, but the possibility of winning every game is there. And the possibility of winning every game is there because you prepare over the course of the week of practice by working hard, and working intensely.

"By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail" -- Benjamin Franklin

  At the forefront of winning comes the desire to win. Everyone loves winning. There's no doubt about that. But the difference lies in who is willing to prepare to win. Preparing to win on the basketball court means practicing as if it were a game. You play in practice with the same intensity in which you play a game. You run just has hard, you chase down rebounds, you finish every play just as if it were a game. Sure it's not easy. But it's what has to be done if you want to be successful on game day.

  'Going through the motions', I think, is one of the worst phrases you can hear in regards to an athlete. That phrase indicates: lack of passion, lack of intensity, no work ethic, and not serious. And going through the motions is exactly what you don't want to do in practice. Going through the motions will not prepare you for the intensity of a game, and it will not prepare you to win.

  Playing basketball, whether it's in practice or in a game, has always brought me great joy. I think the things that have drawn me to basketball are the necessary cohesiveness, and the competitiveness. To me, there's nothing better that going out on the court with your four teammates, playing your hardest, and competing against the five players across the way.

Versus Voiron.

  Winning will not happen on its own, because, more than likely, your opponent loves to win just as much as you do. Especially at the professional level. Sure, sometimes you can get away with lacking intensity, or not working hard. Maybe you're just more talented than your particular opponent that day. But when talent is equal, it will be the preparation, the passion, and the work ethic that will push one team over the top.

  So here's my motivation for the rest of the season: I will focus on myself, and ensure that I am holding up my end of the bargain. Maybe that sounds selfish, but at the end of the day, I can only control one person: me. I will take every opportunity in practice to play my hardest, and try to bring up the level of intensity that way. We can continue to be mediocre, but that's not something I'm willing to do. The only way we will be successful, is if we play with more intensity, and our desire to win is higher than our opponent's.

  Winning will not 'just happen'. You have to put in the work first, and only then, will the results come.

  Make today a great one!

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Blogging from the Bus

Blogging on the bus.

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  I'm writing today's blog from the comforts of our bus, as DMBC Dunkerque travel from Dunkerque to the Alp town of Voiron. We play Voiron Saturday night, but since it's a 900 kilometer (500+ miles) drive, we left early Friday morning hopefully allowing our legs to be of better use during the game.

  An hour after stopping for lunch at an AutoGrill (the first one I've been to since frequenting them on road trips in Italy), I decided it was as good a time as any to get to blogging. I finished the Chelsea Handler book (don't judge) that I've been reading on and off since August (eh...I'm obviously not much of a reader, but I'm trying to do better!), and you can only look out onto the French countryside for so long without getting bored.

  Even though I've been up since 5:30am (jet lag is still rearing its ugly head), sleep is nowhere to be found. For whatever reason, I've never been one for napping. My mom tells me I stopped napping as a two year old, so obviously it's never been something I did very well. I wish I could nap, but my body just won't let me. It's a valuable skill most professional basketball players master early in their careers. For one, it's important to take some rest in between training sessions (lots of time in Europe, you have two practices a day throughout the season). And secondly, most players use napping as a way to quickly pass the hours of free time we have on a daily basis.

  So somewhere southeast of Paris, here I am.

My view from the floor of the bus!

  This time around we don't have a 'sleeper bus' (which might also be contributing to my inability to sleep while en route), so my teammates and I are desperately trying to find ways to entertain ourselves for the 11-12 hour bus ride. I did bring my sleeping bag along (actually my friend V's sleeping bag she lent me for the season) and put it on the floor. Hopefully being able to stretch my legs out and lay down will help my back not be all out-of-whack when we get to Voiron.

  I've listened to some music, a Jillian Michaels' Podcast from late last year about sugar and artificial sweeteners, and finished reading my highly-educational book. I rented the movie, The Warrior,  from iTunes that I'll either watch later on, or save for the return trip Saturday night. I'll also put in some thought to my resolutions and goals for the year/next couple of months that I wrote about earlier in the week. We have four or five more hours on the bus to go, so that's how I'll be spending it (maybe with a couple glances out the window here and there).

  My first week back in France has gone by fairly quickly, and been relatively smooth.

  I spent all day Sunday losing the battle with jet lag, and slept most of the afternoon. The most difficult thing about traveling to Europe from the States, is that when you finally touch down, it's the morning. So you have the whole day that you need to stay awake for. Unless you're on vacation or working, where you have sightseeing, or have something scheduled to keep you busy, staying awake is a difficult thing to do. So I didn't do a very good job following my own advice of not sleeping during the day when you're trying to re-adjust to a new time zone.

A look out from our hotel. Not bad, huh?

  We resumed our regular week of practice on Monday afternoon. It was good to see my teammates, and get started with the second half of the season. We have at least 13 more games left to play together, so hopefully we can pick up where we left off (four straight wins) before we went our separate ways for the Holidays.

  Unfortunately, I've come up with another annoying little injury along the way (this is where you all tell me I'm getting old, isn't it?). My Achilles tendon started giving me trouble while I was home, so I'm working to get that under control. I'm hoping this will be the last I talk about it, as we seem to have the problem figured out. Now I just need it to heal up!

  It's always a difficult process getting back into the swing of things after being home for the Holidays. But the hardest week is the first, and that has almost passed. So it's all down hill from here!

The French Alps!

  I'm going to get to those goals and resolutions now! I'll let you know Monday how our game versus Voiron goes! Have a great weekend, and who ya got in the NFL playoffs?!?!?
 

Setting Goals and Bettering Ourselves

You gotta put in the work to achieve ANYTHING!

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  Resolutions and the setting of new goals go hand in hand with the start of a new year. I, for one, have never been much of a New Year's Resolution setter.

  Matter of fact, I don't think I've ever consciously made a resolution at the beginning of a new year. Sure, I've set plenty of goals for myself over the years, but never a 'New Year's Resolution'.

  For whatever reason, this year I'm contemplating actually jotting a few down. (Or am I too late? Seeing as were already a few weeks into 2012!) It dawned on me, that I haven't consciously set out to achieve one particular thing in quite some time: haven't written it down, and really set my mind to it.

  And when you think about it, that's exactly how we make ourselves better. You consciously put your mind towards achieving a goal, and you formulate a plan on exactly how you're going to do it. We're all works in progress, and bettering myself and my quality of life, is something that has grown to be a priority for me.

  There's one thing, though, that I don't like about New Year's Resolutions: Why do we wait for a new year to try to better ourselves?

  Maybe we should make monthly goals. Those might be easier to stick to, and easier to evaluate. After all, isn't one of the more-amusing things about setting New Year's Resolutions is how quickly they are broken?

  Anyways, onto some resolutions.

Set Up for Success
  So if I'm going to make some resolutions, I want to set myself up to be successful -- to follow through with them. It takes some honesty and self-evaluation. What do you want to change about your life? What do you want to pursue?

  Remember, not every goal and resolution has to be a huge epiphany. They can be light-hearted and smaller-scale too. But it's the deeper ones that probably will be the most difficult to achieve, and in-turn, have the most payoff.

  The most important thing when setting goals, is to make them manageable. You have to have a clear vision of what exactly you are trying to achieve. The more-specific, the better.

  The days of saying, 'I want to be healthier' or 'I want a better job' are over. What EXACTLY does that mean? Being healthier and getting a better job have different meanings for everyone. What does it mean, and what does it look like to YOU?

A Goal Pyramid
  Probably the most-productive way to setting long term goals and resolutions is to make a goal pyramid.

Top Level
  At the top of that pyramid is your very specific, very detailed goal. Define your goal. Make it measurable. Give it a time limit. And make it realistic. (Nothing like biting off too much, and immediately making things seem impossible.)

  As we all know, achieving a goal is difficult. A lot of times, we have to do things that are unpleasant and uncomfortable in order to reach that goal. It's during those unpleasant times we can lose our motivation. If achieving our goals were easy, we'd all be perfect human-beings though, wouldn't we?

  Somehow, in order to provide ourselves with the motivation, we have to form an attachment to our goal. What will reaching my goal make me feel like? What does it feel like in my mind when I reach my goal? Why is it worth it?

  We can accomplish anything if we feel it is worth it, and we feel it is achievable. Our reasons are the source for our motivation.

  I think forming this emotional attachment is the most important aspect of reaching our goals. Isn't the inability to stay motivated the biggest excuse used when goals AREN'T achieved? Someone else's motivations or reasons won't help you reach YOUR goals. It's within you.

  So we ask ourselves: how will my life be better when this goal is attained?

  That's what will keep you going. Outside motivations might help in the interim, but it's what is within (your reasons; why you want your goal) that will keep you on track. 

Second and Third Level
  The second level of the pyramid is the road map to achieving your goal. What are the more-immediate steps, or goals, to achieving our ultimate goal at the top of the pyramid? What can you do today?

  Essentially, they are a series of smaller-scaled goals.

  You can break your pyramid down into monthly, weekly, and daily goals. Our daily goals will help us achieve our weekly goals, and our weekly goals will help us achieve our monthly goals, and so on.

  Shorter-term goals are easier to evaluate, and are easier to hold ourselves accountable to. The HUGE goal may seem overwhelming, and too difficult, but when broken down into a series of smaller goals, it's made to seem more-achievable. And that's what this is all about. We want to set ourselves up for success.
  

"One may walk over the highest mountain one step at a time." – John Wanamaker

Tell it to the World
  Once our goals are set, and our pyramid is made, tell people about your goals! More than likely, it will help us stick to our guns -- be accountable. When you tell someone what you want to achieve, you'll probably be less-likely to throw in the towel. And if they're important to you, more often than not, they will offer support to you along the way.

  Finally, it becomes about action! It's about work ethic, and doing our work on a daily basis to reach our goals. It's common-knowledge that it takes 21 days to create a new habit. It doesn't happen overnight, so we can't expect immediate change. It's a long process. 

Breaking Through Negative Thoughts

  While action is at the forefront of goal achievement, our minds have a tendency to get in the way too, can't they? We must learn to deal with, and manage negative thoughts. Changing our mindset goes hand in hand with modifying our behavior. We have to train our brain. How can we respond to negative thoughts and behaviors with things that are positive and reaffirming?

  

  When negative thoughts creep into our minds, it's then we need to go back, and re-read our reasons. Remind ourselves of our motivations! Why are these difficult/uncomfortable times worth it? What did we want to feel like, again?

  Another way to turn a negative into a positive is to provide yourself with incentives. Reward yourself! When you reach a weekly or monthly goal, give yourself a pat on the back. (not just a mental pat on the back, but an actual reward for yourself!) Create reaffirming rewards for reaching your smaller-step-goals. Positive reinforcement helps in the journey.

  Resolutions and goals are very achievable, but it's a difficult journey, no doubt. The key is motivation! We have to believe in ourselves, and continually remind ourselves why our goals are important to us along the way.

  How many of you all set New Year's Resolutions? Or do you set goals for yourself on a regular basis?

  I'm going to give my New Year's Resolutions some serious thought, and I'll let you know what they are in the coming weeks!

  LINKS:

Jillian Michaels Podcast 12/31/2006

Jillian Michaels Podcast 12/16/2011

Back from Hiatus

With my three nieces!

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  Happy 2012, and welcome back to Sabrina's Crossing! I took a longer-than-expected hiatus from blogging while home for the Holidays, but I'm back in France, and ready to get back to it (basketball and blogging, that is)!

  I had an awesome time at home, spending most of my time with family and friends. And of course I continued to workout to stay in shape for the remainder of the season!

  Since I was in Oregon for nearly three weeks, I had to keep reminding myself that I was in-season, and still had four months of basketball to play! From past experience, a 7-10 day break for the Holidays is the norm. Last year in Sweden, I had about five days. So I guess it all balances itself out from year to year. While a longer break is always more-desirable, at a certain point you realize it's time to get back to 'doing what you do'!

Playing Wii with Sofie.

  That said, I'm excited to get the second half of the season started! But first I need to get my land legs back, and get this jet-lag under control (I think I spent all of Sunday drifting in and out of consciousness, and then had my eyes pop open this morning around 4am!). 

  So what did I do at home, since I obviously wasn't blogging?!? A little bit of everything, I guess.

  I made frequent visits to ClubSport to keep my conditioning up to par, and to stay ready for the second half of the basketball season. ClubSport is always changing, they're always making upgrades. And this time around was no different.

  Among other things, they added a 'high altitude training' room. I immediately wanted to give it a try, and see how a simulated run at altitude compared with the many runs at altitude I've done in Colorado. I didn't lose my breath as quickly as I thought I should (room was set for 9,500 ft.), but it was a fun/interesting thing to do.

The line up outside the ES.

  One of the more-ridiculous things that happened while I was home was when I took a trip to the Nike Employee Store the day the Jordan XIs were released. I guess I underestimated the power of  possibly the most-popular Nike ever. But needless to say, the appetite for shoes, and Jordans in particular, never cease to amaze me.

  I quickly made the decision to reschedule my pass to the ES for another, less-chaotic day when the line just to get into the store was out to the street, several hundred feet from the door.

With Sadie.

With Stella.

  After spending four months away, it's always fun to see how much my three incredible nieces have grown and changed during that time. I swear, they just get cuter, funnier, smarter, and more- entertaining every time I see them (no bias)!

  We have a great time together, whether it's playing Wii, playing dress-up (them, not me!!), going to the coffee shop for a treat or two, playing basketball, or playing on scooters, bikes, or roller racers!

  Stella, Sadie, and Sofie always keep me on my toes, and always manage to keep a smile firmly planted on my face!

First birthday dinner with Nana & nieces!

  The benefit of having a long Holiday break, was that I was able to celebrate my birthday at home for the first time in several years. I share a birthday with my Nana, so it was a special day to be able to see her on January 3rd this time around!

  We definitely took full advantage, and spent some quality family time together (I count two family birthday dinners). Nothing like having a homemade chocolate birthday cake!

  I was also able to take advantage of scheduling and timing, and make the three-hour drive to Seattle to watch the Colorado women's basketball team take on the Huskies. I hadn't seen the Buffs play in person since 2008, and it was my first opportunity to catch the Buffs in action since my CU teammate, and good friend Linda took over the reins as head coach!

Coach Lappe and the Buffs in action!

  Seeing a college game again was fun. The pace and the intricacies of the game are much different than the European game, and the college game has changed a lot since I wore the black and gold.

  Unfortunately, I probably won't be allowed back for any games in the near future, since I was on-hand for the Buffs' first loss of the season. But it was great being in the stands cheering for my alma mater!

  My mom made the day-trip to Seattle with me, and we had a wonderful afternoon together: spending time downtown, at Pike's Place Market, Starbucks, and of course cheering on the Buffs and yelling at referees!

Mom & I in Seattle.

  Obviously, the main reason I went home, was to spend Christmas with my family. To me, it just isn't Christmas unless I'm with my family! I had a chance to catch up with a lot of friends I only get to see on occasion. I got to meet a new second-cousin (my cousin Robbie's son, Wesley). I managed to finish my shopping in time, and hopefully everyone enjoyed the presents I brought home from Europe!

  But outside of that, the time I got to spend with my family was the real gift! I had a great Holiday at home, and I loved every second of it.

  The sun is finally rising on Monday morning here in Dunkerque

  I'm also looking forward resuming my journey with this blog. As you might notice, I made a few changes to the layout. Please let me know if the text is too difficult to read, or any other feedback you might have. Thanks again!

2012 in Dunkerque!

Happy 2012!